I keep one plastic box in the back of the Chevy Tahoe for crappie and bluegill, and it is the Crappie Magnet Best of the Best Kit, 115 pieces. I bought it myself the first week of March, along with a Plano box and three Ugly Stik combos for my kids, after one cold Saturday at the pier went sideways. Ben's line came off the reel in a bird's nest, he cried, and we packed up after an hour. Back home I found loose hooks rolling around the cargo mat. That was enough for me.
I am Jolene, 41, from Brandon, Mississippi. Travis works rotating shifts, so most trips are me and the kids. Wyatt is 13, Callie is 11, and Ben is 9. We fish from the bank and the public piers around Ross Barnett Reservoir, plus my aunt's farm pond. No boat. The kit lives in box 2 of the Plano, the crappie box. Callie rigs the jigs. Wyatt ties knots and carries the tackle. Ben runs a bobber and worm. These are the ten reasons this kit made our evenings simpler, not the reasons a catalog says you need it.
One box, 115 pieces, and nobody digging through loose hooks
The Crappie Magnet Best of the Best Kit holds the jig heads, split-tail bodies, and E-Z Crappie Floats we use on weeknights at the pier. It is the box Callie reaches for first.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →Replaces the loose jig head hunt in the cargo area
Before March, our crappie gear was a few jig heads and mismatched plastics off the bait shop pegs, loose in a zip bag. I found hooks in the Tahoe mat. The kit gives every piece one home, and that home is box 2 of the Plano. At the pier, Callie opens one latch and sees the bodies and heads together. That sounds small until you are rigging in wind with a 9 year old asking where his bobber went.
115 pieces means fewer bait shop detours
On a weeknight I pick up the kids, fix sandwiches, and drive to the pier. I do not want to stop at a bait shop on the way. The 115 count gives us enough bodies and heads for several trips if we keep track of them. I am not going to promise you a fish count. I am saying the box is stocked when we leave the driveway, which is one less stop on a school night.
Jig heads and bodies come matched
The Double Cross jig heads in the kit are made to pair with the split-tail bodies. I used to guess which head went with which plastic, and I got it wrong plenty. Now Callie grabs a head and a body and rigs it. The hooks are high carbon steel with a spear point, and the bodies are plastic. I do not have to explain hook anatomy at the pier. She threads the plastic, ties it on, and gets back to fishing.
Split tail stays open for small hands
The body has a split tail that is designed to stay open. That matters when an 11 year old is rigging in a hurry. Curly tails and skirts can mat down or wrap around the hook. This body has little action of its own, which the listing says is on purpose. I am not a biologist. I just know Callie can rig it without asking me to fix the tail every cast.
Floats in the kit give Ben a job
Ben is 9. His job is a bobber and worm. The kit includes E-Z Crappie Floats, so I can clip one on and set him at a depth he can watch. He still needs help with the knot, but the float gives him something to do besides ask when we are going home. On the pier, he can see a bite before he feels it. That keeps him fishing longer, and longer means less whining and more quiet.
Fits in the Plano box 2 and rides in the Tahoe
The kit is compact. The listing gives item dimensions of 2.5 by 0.25 by 0.5 inches and a weight of 4.54 grams. In real life it tucks into box 2 of our Plano Angled Tackle System, the crappie box. Wyatt carries the Plano. I carry a bucket and a net. Nothing extra swings from my shoulder. When we get home, the kit goes back in the same box, so the next trip starts with a check, not a search.
High carbon steel hooks stand up to kid handling
The hooks are high carbon steel with a spear point. That is the listing, and it is what I can see. I am not going to call them unbreakable. I have had to pinch barbs and retie after snags. But after eight months of bank and pier trips, the hooks in the kit have not rusted through or bent out on every bluegill. Wyatt is 13 and still learning pressure on the knot. The hooks have forgiven more than I expected.
After eight months of bank and pier trips, nothing in the kit has broken and nothing has been replaced.
Gives each kid a clear job at the pier
Fishing with three kids is mostly logistics. Wyatt carries the Plano and ties knots. Callie rigs the Crappie Magnet jigs. Ben runs a bobber and worm. The kit makes Callie's job real. She is not just standing there. She picks a body, matches a head, and hands it to Wyatt or me. That structure cuts down on crowding at the rail. It also means I am not the only one rigging. On a good evening, we fish instead of managing.
Works for bluegill when crappie are quiet
The kit is made for crappie, but we fish bluegill too. A small jig under a float will get hit by bluegill at our pond and off the pier. I am not saying it is a catfish rig. It is not. But on a spring evening when the crappie are not cooperating, Callie can still catch bluegill on the same jig. That keeps the trip from turning into a lecture about patience. The target species on the listing is crappie, and that is fair. It just happens to catch panfish for us.
Turns a weeknight trip into one box and one rod
Our best night with the kit was one weeknight in April at the pier. We caught about a dozen crappie and kept them for supper. That is the whole story. I am not going to tell you it happens every time. What made that night easy was the setup. One box, three rods, a bucket, and a net. No bait shop, no loose hooks, no hunt for the right plastic. The Crappie Magnet kit did not catch the fish for us. It removed the reasons we used to quit early.
What I'd Skip
Here is what I would skip. If you only fish catfish, this is not your box. The kit is overkill for a pure catfish trip, and the pieces are tiny. Ben, at 9, can lose a body in the grass if he is not paying attention. Callie has dropped a jig head on the pier planks more than once. If your kids are still putting small things in their mouths, wait. The kit is also not a guarantee. You still need to check your state's rules, watch the weather, and put the bait where the fish are. I would not buy it expecting it to fix a bad reel or old line. It is a box of jigs and floats, not a complete overhaul.
Make the next pier evening about fishing, not rigging
The Crappie Magnet Best of the Best Kit is the box we keep in box 2. If your crew is tired of loose hooks and mismatched plastics, start there.
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